


The Place Between Fact and Fiction

by emynn (orphan_account)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: HP: EWE, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-19
Updated: 2011-07-19
Packaged: 2017-10-23 15:24:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/emynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Severus finally came up with the perfect plan to live their life together in peace, once and for all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Place Between Fact and Fiction

**Author's Note:**

> Written for snape_potter Fix It Fest.

Severus casually rested his head on his hand. If he held it just so, he could at least partially block out the sound of Harry’s frantic typing. Really, it was a wonder the keyboard still had any keys left with the way Harry slammed his fingers down when he was feeling especially “inspired.” Harry glanced up and cast a suspicious look up at him. Severus graced him with a hopefully beatific smile.

“Just wait,” Harry said, returning to his typing. “This is brilliant.” He pounded at the keys for another minute, paused, and then finished with a rapid staccato of clicks. Finally, he gestured for Severus to come over. “Okay, tell me what you think.”

“You’ve already had me, a confirmed homosexual by the age of eight, to be disgustingly in love with your mother, and then killed me off with a bloody snakebite. I’m not sure what else you hope to accomplish with this drivel,” Severus muttered, but he found his spectacles so he could examine the screen more closely.

“No, this is perfect,” Harry insisted. “It’s an epilogue. It ties up any and all loose ends so there’s no way for them to dispute it.”

Severus quickly scrolled through the document. He felt his stomach rolling. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“It’s good, right?” Harry asked with a wide grin on his face. “I go off and marry Ginny and have some children, one of whom I name after you. They never bother you again, and your name is definitely cleared. Then we can go on continuing to live our own private life entirely undisturbed.”

Severus frowned. “And when somebody checks the records and see there are no Potter children at Hogwarts?”

“That’s the best part!” Harry exclaimed. “A powerful Confundus Charm on all of the books. I think I’ve even managed to make it contagious, so even if you don’t read the actual book, just by reading a report on what’s in it, you believe it all! Of course, I’d cast an immunity charm on the Weasleys and everybody we actually care about first. It’s great, right?”

Severus shook his head in wonder. Even after so many years with Harry, he was still constantly astounded by just how powerful he was. He doubted there was any other wizard, alive or dead, who could manage a spell of that magnitude. What was even more astounding was that Harry didn’t even have to prove his abilities; his word was good enough to assure Severus that it was the truth. How times had changed.

“And Miss Weasley?” Severus asked. “She is amenable to this deception?”

“Thrilled, actually,” Harry said. He clicked to save the document. “The press will love that she’s married to me. They won’t even pay attention to how she’s sleeping with Lucius Malfoy. I’m sure it won’t hurt her Quidditch career either.”

A dark thought crossed Severus’s mind. He pulled Harry toward him until he was sitting in his lap. Gently, Severus brushed back his hair and traced the lightning bolt scar with a finger.

“Hey,” Harry whispered. “What’s wrong? I would have thought you’d be thrilled. We’ve been working on this for ages.”

“You could have had a Quidditch career,” Severus murmured. “You could have had anything you wanted. You don’t need to be hidden away with me for the rest of your life.”

Harry wrapped his arms and Severus’s shoulders. “Severus. I’m here because I want to be here with you. I understand you not wanting to face the Wizarding world again after the way they treated you. And personally, I’m rather sick of it myself. I don’t want Rita Skeeter reporting on my every move, or people fawning over me for being in a war that we shouldn’t have had to fight. I love you, and I love this quiet life we have. Our friends know the truth and can visit us when they wish. Beyond that? I don’t need anything else.”

“You don’t find me a coward for not wanting to live in that world any longer?” Severus asked.

Harry kissed Severus’s cheek. “You need to read that epilogue more carefully. I was very careful to insert a line about how you are the bravest man I’ve ever known. It’s probably the only true line in the last hundred pages.”

Severus smiled, feeling at peace once more. This little plan they had hatched years ago had been one of their brightest ideas. The proceeds they received from the sales of the book – marketed as fantasy to Muggles and the sole authorized historical account of the war to the Wizarding world – had given the two of them enough money to live a very comfortable lifestyle without ever having to venture to the outside world to seek a job.

“Kind of crazy that this all started as a joke, right?” Harry asked.

Severus didn’t even find it odd anymore that Harry knew exactly what he was thinking without him saying a word. These books had indeed started off as a joke, back from before they were living together. They had recently discovered the internet, and were thrilled with the discovery that email allowed them to communicate without employing an owl that could be detected and tracked down to either of their homes. In one correspondence, Harry had mentioned how he had begun to write down his memories of Hogwarts as a way to deal with the complex emotions from his time there that he was still struggling to reconcile. Severus had sarcastically suggested Harry publish them under a pseudonym and market them as the real deal in hopes of finally earning his fortune. He still had Harry’s response saved in the "Beloved Brat" section of his inbox:

 _"That’d be brilliant! And then I can change key details so everybody thinks I’m doing one thing but I’m actually doing something entirely different! I could actually have a private life for good, haha. Hey, want me to kill you off? Most people already believe you’re dead anyway, so it wouldn’t be a stretch. Then you’d never have to worry about being bothered again either! Bliss, right? JK ROFLOL!”_

Severus hadn’t laughed at all, much less rolled on the floor with his laughter. He had insisted Harry come over immediately, and they began the first book that afternoon. Harry had wanted their pseudonym to be J.K. Roflol, as tribute to the pivotal email that set them free from the chains of unwanted celebrity (or, in Severus’s case, notoriety). Severus refused on the grounds that nobody would believe a respected author had a name that ridiculous. Harry’s next suggestion, J.K. Rolling, still lacked a little panache. And so, after several long hours of pointless bickering, they settled on J.K. Rowling (Severus’s suggestion, naturally).

The rest, as they say, was history.

Severus kissed Harry firmly. No matter how much Harry downplayed his actions, Severus recognized a sacrifice when he saw one, and he was damn grateful Harry had been willing to leave the world that had embraced him from infancy and instead live with him in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. “God, I love you,” he breathed when their lips parted.

“I love you too,” Harry said with a smile. “Aren’t you glad I found you?”

Severus rested his head against Harry’s chest. He knew he was referring to the day when Harry had finally tracked down the house Severus had worked so tirelessly to ward against any and all intruders. Harry had insisted he be let in, which led to an afternoon of indisputably exquisite carnal delights. But right now, all he was thinking was how fortunate they were to have found each _other_ – two damaged souls who had seen too much anguish and hurt in the world and discovered unimaginable delight in being alone together.

“Yes,” he finally answered. “Yes, I am.”

 

 __

_**THE DAILY PROPHET**_

 _  
HARRY POTTER BREAKS LONG SILENCE TO DISCUSS NEW HISTORICAL TEXT _

_Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived to be the Chosen One Who Finally Vanquished He Who Must Not be Named, has finally come forward on the dawn of the release of the final book in the seven-part series by acclaimed Wizarding historian J.K. Rowling that depicts his time at Hogwarts._

 _“I am very excited for the release of this book, which describes my final battle with [censored for our readers’ delicate eyes]. This book answers many questions I’ve been asked over the years, and I’m certain there will be no more once you’ve all read it!”_

 _When asked why he has led such a reclusive life since killing He Who Must Not Be Named, Harry only smiled and said, “You know how when you’re in love, the rest of the world just seems to disappear, and you focus entirely on that one person, because that’s all you need to be happy? Well, it’s a bit like that.”_

 _The Daily Prophet pressed Harry for details on the identity of his loved one, long-rumored to be Quidditch star Ginny Weasley, but he only shook his head and, with a saucy wink, told us to read the book._

 _That we will, Harry. That we will._

END


End file.
